MEG Group manufacturing facility is coming to Dove Valley Park
MEG Group’s first UK manufacturing facility is coming to Dove Valley Park in Derbyshire
Plans for a huge bottling plant in Foston to serve supermarket giant Lidl have been confirmed. Hailed as the “largest single investment in South Derbyshire since Toyota” the 50,000sq m water processing, bottling and distribution site is reportedly set to create hundreds of jobs, and an anticipated investment in excess of £50 million.
The planning application was submitted to South Derbyshire District Council and approved by the authority’s planning committee in December 2019. Since then, investigative works have been carried out on the land using boreholes to a depth of over 200ft to ascertain the water quality and capacity. Interestingly, the aquifer is reported to contain water that has percolated through over the last 400 years or more. Despite COVID-19 and Brexit, preparatory works have continued during 2020 as MEG consider this to be a long-term investment into the UK.
Frank McCardle, Chief Executive of South Derbyshire District Council stated,
We have worked closely with the MEG team since their original enquiry, in bringing this new state-of-the-art production facility to South Derbyshire, on Dove Valley Park. This major inward investment has been secured through a dedicated approach, supported by the many benefits of locating in our District. Job creation is always welcome along with energy efficient technology that this plant will incorporate.
Work has been scheduled to start in the summer of this year. The facility will become the first production plant in the UK for the MEG Group. Once set up, the facility will supply Lidl with mineral water and soft drinks for its supermarkets across the UK and Ireland.
Paul Shanley, Director at Clowes Developments comments,
We have established an excellent working relationship with the MEG Group team, based in Germany, and more locally with South Derbyshire District Council, who have been instrumental in enabling this major inward investment for the region and indeed the UK.
The news comes as other schemes are also coming to fruition at the highly regarded Business Park located near Foston, Derbyshire. Just last month the developers, Clowes Developments reported a full planning application for a total of 190,000sq ft industrial/distribution warehouse with ancillary office had been submitted for Plot 4 at Dove Valley Park. The development of the land will involve major infrastructure investment that will benefit the remaining 40 acres of development land which is available on a design and build basis. With top name occupiers already in situ including JCB Power Systems, Futaba International, Tophat, Truma and Kuehne and Nagel, it’s not surprising that demand for industrial space at this class-leading site sustains momentum.
With COVID restrictions still likely to be in place over the coming months, a high profile cutting of the sod is unlikely, but an official start date will be announced in due course. For more information relating to the available plots at Dove Valley Park, interested parties are invited to contact Paul Shanley, Director at Clowes Developments for more information [email protected].
